Old Castle in Grodno reopens after restoration
The architectural gem of the royal Grodno, the Old Castle, is located on the right bank of the Neman near the mouth of the Gorodnichanka River. It has witnessed many historical events. Together with the New Castle, it is among the top 10 most visited attractions in the western part of Belarus. A large-scale renovation project got underway in 2017. Its first phase ended in the autumn of 2021. A museum exposition was opened on 5 November. It features interactive zones narrating about the history of one of the oldest castles in Belarus and also the past of the entire Grodno region.
The history of the Old Castlebegan in the 11th century. Back then it was a defensive structure surrounded by a moat and a ravine. In 1391, the castle became one of the most important residences of Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitaut, therefore, the castle's past is inextricably linked with the life of the legendary ruler. According to one of the legends, the 1398 fire almost destroyed the entire castle and nearly killed its owners. It was a monkey who woke up the guard and saved Vitaut and his wife from imminent death. According to another legend it was a navy seal, a favorite pet of the Grand Duke.
To make sure a fire did not happen again, Vitaut ordered to build a stone castle in the Gothic style on the site of the former wooden buildings. The castle was rebuilt in 1400.
Back then, it was a formidable fortification with five towers and powerful walls up to three meters thick. Its structure resembled a triangle.
However, the Old Castle or the Upper Castle did not last long like this. In 1579, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Bathory invited famous Italian architect Santi Gucci to Grodno to turn the Gothic castle into a Renaissance palace. Simultaneously, the Lower Church was built on the grounds of the castle. The foundation and fragments of the walls of this church have survived.
The castle was completely destroyed in 1655 during the Russo-Polish War of 1654-1667. After that, its restoration was supervised by Chief of the Grodno municipal administration and Lithuanian chancellor Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac. In 1673 a decision was taken to hold every third Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Grodno. To this end, a special building was erected near the Old Castle under Augustus III. This building was later destroyed by the Swedes during the Great Northern War.
The first reconstruction effort in the history of the castle was launched in 1729. In line with the plan developed by architect Carl Friedrich Pöppelmann, the wings were demolished, barracks were built along the wall leading to the Neman River, the courtyard was paved, and a third floor was erected over the central part of the palace. At first, the palace accommodated the king’s servants and economic services, while in the 19th - early 20th centuries it finally turned into a strategic outpost for the Russian, German and Polish armies. For 120 years, the castle was under the supervision of the army of the Russian Empire, and in 1924 it was turned into a museum.
In 1967 the Old Castle in Grodno became the historical and archaeological reserve Zamkovaya Gora (Castle Hill). A large-scale reconstruction effort was launched in 2017. The first phase of the project was completed in November 2021. It included the construction of the entrance and middle towers, restoration of the fortress wall with a gallery between the towers, construction of a measuring hut and a stone house. Today visitors can get familiar with the interactive exhibition in seven halls, and also archaeological findings from Zamkovaya Gora. Among them is a golden ring, a fragment of a chessboard made of a horn, chess pieces - a pawn and a rook of the 14th century, pieces of metal products dating back to the late 14th - early 15th centuries, and even the cores of siege machines of the 14th century! Visitors can also try their hand at making engravings in a medieval print shop and enjoy the views of the downtown from the observation deck.
